Michael Sam, Frank Ocean voted 2014’s top gay icons
By Josh Haggis
Users of gay app Jack’d have voted American Football star Michael Sam their top gay icon of 2014.
R&B singer Frank Ocean came second in the poll, which asked the Jack’d community to answer a series of questions about gay pride and the LGBT celebrities who most inspire them in 2014.
The app has over five million users – though how many of these actually voted in the poll has not been revealed.
Michael Sam, 24, came out in February, and following his selection by the St Louis Rams in May, he will become only the second out gay athlete to compete in any of North America’s four major professional sports leagues – football, baseball, basketball and hockey – after basketball player Jason Collins was selected for the NBA earlier this year.
Frank Ocean released his debut album Channel Orange in 2012 to major critical acclaim – having revealed in a blog post shortly beforehand that his first love had been for a man.
Barack Obama and Fancy Aussie rapper Iggy Azalea tied for third place in the poll, with older Jack’d users leaning towards Obama and younger users leaning towards Azalea.
“With Pride season now upon us, we thought it was important to understand what inspires our community in 2014,” Jack’d CEO Adam Segel said in a press release. “It appears that in 2014, the pantheon of gay icons is changing just as rapidly as the culture at large. It’s great to see that Michael Sam, the NFL’s first openly gay player, is a source of pride for so many young gay men.”
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